Customer review: The release of the ride: Nate Kennedy (Brisbane, Australia)

For Nate Kennedy, chucking his bike on the back of the car after he finishes work on a Friday and heading out to a bike trail is the best way to transition into the weekend. Pedal out the stress, breathe in some air and listen to some tunes through his earSHOTS bluetooth earbuds.

Mathcore is the music he listens to, a subgenre of hardcore punk and metal - it’s full-on, agressive, and just right, says Nate, for hooning around a trail.

“I like to forget about everything else for a couple of hours, it’s a good release. The music I listen to is pretty crazy, a bit of a contrast to where I am and what I’m doing but it seems to work well for riding fast down a trail.”

Nate has been riding for more than 20 years and while he used to compete, mainly in enduro events, he now rides for the simple fun and thrill of it - plus he admits that mountain biking is an addiction.

“I went out with mates and crashed and went over the bars that first time but once I got into it I was pretty much hooked. There’s lots of people here on the Gold Coast that ride and there seems to be more and more getting into it.”

Nate lives in the Northern Gold Coast, an area he says has a lot to offer riders with a climate that makes all- year- round mountain biking possible without too much mud.

“There are trails that are about 20 minutes from home and there is a new trail network that I have been going to a fair bit lately at Mount Cotton. The terrain is hard packed and dusty and there is a bit of everything, fast, flowey jumps and more technical steep and downhill.”

EarSHOTS outdoor headphones were a real find for Nate- he had tried others that didn’t quite cut-it- “earSHOTS are so much better”.

“They are so fantastic, I can pretty much just crank it, be immersed in my music and go for it. I’m outside, I’m listening to my music and I’m enjoying what I do. They are the best earbuds for riding”

Nate says when he first checked out earSHOTS he liked the backstory of them being invented by a rider who was fed-up with earphones not being up to the task.

“That makes them different. They fit so well, they never move and they do what they need to do with the best sound. It’s just effortless with earSHOTS.”

And after a day’s hard graft Nate’s bike, his music and Mount Cotton offers up freedom. There’s rainforest, eucalyptus trees and mostly tight single tracks which Nate says he often has almost to himself.

“It’s good just being in nature and not seeing any signs of anything else. I prefer riding by myself and choosing where I want to go. It’s great feeling like you are the only person. I’ve been riding for so long now, I guess I just really enjoy it, it’s the thing I do where I feel free from everything else.”